General

Stuart Bingham ended a 16-year wait for his first major ranking title win by claiming the Australian Snooker Goldfield Open in Bendigo beating world number one, Mark Williams in the final.
The Essex-man won the last four frames to secure his maiden victory after the Welshman had led 8-5.

Two ‘doubles’ in the final frame decider proved decisive as the world number 17 opened up a convincing lead.

He was forced into a ‘do or die’ cross double following an excellent safety from Williams, which he duly got, creating a match-winning opportunity

A cruel in-off looked like it could be costly but two-time world champion, Williams failed to capitalise and when Bingham doubled the penultimate red to leave his opponent requiring snooker’s his name was finally etched on the trophy.

Bingham is arguably the most dedicated professional in the game. He has genuine love for the game and lives by the motto ‘Have cue, will travel’.

He loves competing and has not forgotten his roots. He continues to support tournaments that were key to his early development and that many of his fellow-competitors choose to ignore.

A disappointed Williams said “I was 8-5 up and cruising, I laid a good snooker on him. He got out of it and fluked a snooker back. And after that Stuart took control, and there was nothing I could do”.

Bingham was initially lost for words but summed the week in Australia as the ‘greatest week of my life’.

Although, that could be superseded in a few weeks time when fiancée Michelle is due to give birth to their first child.

He agreed with Williams saying, “The snooker changed it, he had me in all sorts. It just changed everything, I don’t know, my body language and my thinking. I just thought, this is my chance”.

Bingham attributed his win to those that have helped him over the years including his current coach, Stephen Feeney.

The former world amateur champion has been working with Feeney since last year and the SightRight technique seems to be paying dividends.

Feeney told Global-snooker.com, “I am so pleased for him with today’s result.

“Since we got together he has worked so hard and his improved accuracy is really showing through now in every part of his game.

“He is so dedicated and ambitious it’s great to see success now coming his way.

“There is still lots more to do but everything is going in the right direction as can be measured by his results in Australia.

Selt, ranked 43rd in the world, had to win two qualifying matches to get to the tournament at the Bendigo Stadium in Bendigo, Victoria.

But he beat current world champion John Higgins on Tuesday and today claimed a 5-1 victory in the last 16 over seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry.

“There was a bit of pressure for me to win as I was playing Stephen Hendry and he’s the greatest winner of all time – he’s like a machine,” said Selt.

“After beating John I felt amazing but I was brought down to Earth with that performance.

“I didn’t feel like I did yesterday and Stephen didn’t play well at all. I only had five hours sleep last night so that might not have helped but if Stephen had played well he would’ve won.”

Ken Doherty bounced back from World Cup disappointment to record his finest victory for more than a season.

Doherty was in the two-man Irish team that struggled in Bangkok, only scraping their way through the group after a defeat against Pakistan before being knocked out in the quarter-finals.

But Doherty, ranked 28th in the world, defeated Stephen Maguire 5-2 in the first round.

“I played pretty well and I’m delighted to have beaten such a tough opponent,” said Doherty. “It’s been such a long time since I’ve beaten someone of Stephen’s standard, a top eight player.

“I can’t remember when it would’ve been but it wasn’t last season. I beat Neil Robertson to get to the quarter-finals in the Shanghai Masters the year before last and beat Mark Selby in the Grand Prix.”

“This has to be the best achievement for me. It’s something I’ve wanted to do all of my life and I just hope I play well in the final.

“I beat Stephen Hendry in the World Championships (in 2000) and thought I had made it but a few things happened off the table.

“At one stage I nearly dropped off the tour and I lost ten matches on the trot. I was about 76th in the rankings when there were only 90 players.

“I turned professional in 1995 and it’s everyone’s dream to become World Champion and world number one. But as the years went on you start doubting yourself.

“It’s nice to put that Hendry result to rest. People will talk about my final here and not just about beating Stephen Hendry.

“It’s going to be tough but the toughest thing is controlling my emotions.”

Williams hit two centuries in his victory over Doherty, who was playing in his first semi-final for five years.

Welshman Williams has now made five century breaks in the tournament – more than any other player and one more than Bingham.

“It was a tough game and Ken didn’t miss a lot,” said Williams. “It’s just nice to see him back playing and getting to the latter stages. This could be the springboard he needs to get back up the rankings.

“After the first match I’ve played quite well and the tables have been excellent and the crowd excellent. I’m just looking forward to the final.

“It’s not easy to get to the final so I’m just going to enjoy it. I probably haven’t got many more finals in me left.”

Williams made breaks of 110 and 106 but also of 47, 53, 48, 56 and 49 as he remained on course to win again.

The final is the best of 19 frames with the first session starting at 2pm local time and the second session at 7.30pm.

Live coverage is available on FOXSPORTS from 1-5pm and 7.30-11pm daily in Australia. The programmes are also broadcast on Eurosport across the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe.…

Tried and Tested Home Improvement Tips

A disorganized home is always a source of stress for anyone coming home from work. Initiating a home improvement project but only doing it halfway done is a big no-no. You can make a lot of improvements to your home that’s quick and easy without even spending a lot. Here are just some tips that can help you improve your home efficiently.

Acquire Building Permits

When you’re planning to initiate a home improvement project, it’s a wise decision to get the proper building permits. You’ll be handling a lot of things like plumbing, electrical wirings, structural changes and more. You should review the laws in your locality to make sure there are no contraindications to your actions. If you go on with your project without a permit, you can be fined which will cost money.

Utilizing Hardwood

Commonly in older houses, hardwood flooring can be found below the carpeting. They’re strong but because of the several years that had passed, they may need some refurbishing. Having them is considered a jackpot as you can save a lot of money in just having them maintained instead of installing new ones. Bingo Wins

Home Insulation

A home’s insulation is important in keeping you warm or cool depending on the weather conditions. A well-insulated home ensures that the temperature inside the house is kept at a regulated level, making you as comfortable as possible. This also helps in reducing the energy bills that you have to spend in air conditioning or heating systems. Insulation also helps in controlling the noise coming from the outside. If your house has adequate insulation, the property value also rises to a certain extent if you’re planning to sell it.

Saving money is an important part in home improvement. You want to get the best out of your home but you don’t really have to be extravagant. These are just some ways that you can efficiently work with in your home improvement.…

Too Much Exercise Equal to Cancer

It has been a long standing question for many years already. The contradiction of exercise and cancer development has been the cause of concern with athletes, bodybuilders and exercise enthusiasts alike. Exercise has been known for the number of benefits that it brings, especially against battling numerous health conditions that can potentially endanger our lives or leave irreparable damage to our organs. However, there have been questions going around whether or not excessive exercise can lead to the development of one of the most serious health conditions – cancer. Just what is it about exercise and cancer? Can too much exercise lead to cancer? Here are some facts to help you understand it.

What is Oxidative Stress?

During normal metabolism, our body produces molecules that are fundamentally unstable in nature. The most common ones are what we call free radicals. They can damage the cells and create even more free radicals, thereby causing more room for damage. Antioxidants are primarily the weapons that fight against these free radicals – either ones acquired from outside the body or those produced by the body itself. Overtime, when these free radicals overwhelm your body’s natural defenses in the form of antioxidants, cell damage is inevitable. This damage is then referred to as oxidative stress.

Exercise and the Immune System

Our immune system is the one primarily responsible to act as a defensive wall against harmful factors through a number of ways. When the immune system’s function gets depressed or severely hindered by factors like malnutrition, illness or serious health conditions like HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) or hematologic conditions like aplastic anemia.

Exercise has been known for its benefits like strengthening the cardiovascular system, respiratory system and even the immune system. However, there have been studies indicating that too much exercise can lead to the depression in the immune system’s function.

Our body produces free radicals at a regulated amount with our antioxidant natural defenses counteracting the damage that they cause. However, overtraining or excessive exercise can lead to the increase of these free radicals, significantly increasing the amount of damage that they cause. Exhaustive exercise causes inflammation and damage to the tissues which is the most apparent sign of increased free radicals in the body. This is particularly located in the muscular and skeletal regions, making it more common with runners, bodybuilders and athletes.

Dr. Ken Cooper, an expert in antioxidant and free radical research, has stated that there are two ways that free radical production can be increased through excessive exercise. The first method involves an electron leak, occurring during exhaustive exercise regimen. This is because the body’s demand for oxygen increases, giving more room to this electron leak. The second way is through ischemia perforation. This is due to the diverting and redirecting of blood flow to working muscles, leaving the other organs deprived of blood supply. Once exercise is done, blood circulation rushes back to these organs. This event has been linked to the production of free radicals.

The Connection

However, after knowing all these facts, there hasn’t been concrete evidence against exercise which could lead to the development of cancer. Except when exercising under the intense heat which may cause skin cancer, only benefits are inclined to exercise thus far.…